Did the Bears make a mistake passing up on a first-team all-pro corner?
The 2020 NFL draft was a weird one. In fact, the whole 2020 year was a weird one. However, for this article, let's just stick to the NFL.
For those of you that don't remember, the 2020 draft was held virtually. The Bears did not have a first-round pick. Their first selection came early in the second round when they drafted TE Cole Kmet. A few picks later, they selected CB Jaylon Johnson with the 50th overall pick. The interesting fact is that with the pick immediately after, the Dallas Cowboys selected another cornerback, Trevon Diggs.
The question that is worth asking is: Did the Bears make a mistake selecting Johnson instead of Diggs.
I think you could make a case for both sides. Trevon Diggs got all the accolades ever since he joined the league. He has 14 interceptions in his 27 starts so far. This is really impressive stuff. Diggs was also named to a pro bowl and a first-team all-pro selection.
However, Diggs also struggled a lot in coverage. He made many bigs plays, but he gave up a lot too. He actually leads all cornerbacks in yards allowed this season. Of course, having 11 picks makes up for a lot of the mistakes, but he was far from perfect still. Diggs' pff coverage grade was a very average 59. Don't get me wrong, I would take Trevon Diggs on my team in a heartbeat, but he might be a little overrated.
As for Johnson, the stats are not as impressive. He only has one career interception so far. However, he is way more fundamentally sound in coverage. He has shown that he can literally lock up opponent wide receivers. I also really like Johnson's physicality and willingness to make solid tackles in the run game.
I think it's really a toss-up between the two players. Diggs is a better playmaker but Johnson is the better cover corner. One thing is for sure, they would make a great duo across from each other! For this article's sake, I will give the nod to our guy Jaylon Johnson but I would not blame anyone for choosing Diggs over him.
Here is a clip of all of Diggs' interceptions last season:
Jaylon Johnson clips:
| POLL | ||
8 AVRIL | 33 ANSWERS Did the Bears make a mistake passing up on a first-team all-pro corner? Would you rather have Trevin Diggs or Jaylon Johnson moving forward? | ||
| Jaylon Johnson | 20 | 60.6 % |
| Trevon DIggs | 13 | 39.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
